Welcome to Teach CUNY 2013!

What Does Public Higher Education Mean?

Teach CUNY is a campaign by BMCC faculty, students, and staff to raise awareness about the issues that matter most at CUNY. In the past two years, Teach CUNY has focused on fighting budget cuts and tuition hikes, improving working conditions, and raising the quality of education. Our theme this year is “What does public higher education mean?” CUNY’s budget is flat this year, but forty years of underfunding and regressive policies continue to do damage.

Teach CUNY will raise awareness about these issues:

• Full public funding for CUNY
• Open admissions and an equal education for all
• Health insurance and a fair contract for all faculty and staff
• An alternative to Pathways that doesn’t water down education
• Programs that value and promote critical thinking

During Teach CUNY Week, faculty are planning to teach about these issues in several ways: Using the Teach CUNY fact sheet, faculty will encourage students to attend the Teach CUNY events for March. Using the Teach CUNY lesson plans, faculty will incorporate CUNY issues into their classroom lessons. Many faculty are also planning to create their own lessons. If you do, please share it with this site by sending a description of the lesson plan to teachcuny@hotmail.com.

 

Welcome to Teach CUNY 2012!

Building off the success of our Teach CUNY campaign last year, it’s time to do it again! This year’s Teach CUNY is a month-long faculty and student-led campaign to build awareness about the problems caused by decades of cuts to CUNY.  Tuition is increasing rapidly, financial aid is shrinking and harder to earn, class sizes have swelled, underpaid part-time positions have replaced full-time ones, and CUNY’s promise of open admissions for all students is in jeopardy.  CUNY community colleges have been hardest hit, expanding the already-existing funding gap between senior and junior colleges.  But the rich history of CUNY activism shows that real change is possible.  For students, for faculty, for staff, it’s time to give CUNY a refund.  Join the movement by participating in one or more Teach CUNY events this March and inviting your students to do the same. Teach CUNY, get involved. 

This website includes resources for BMCC faculty to help prepare for Teach CUNY Week, which will kick off our month-long campaign.  During Teach CUNY Week, we encourage faculty to teach about the issues facing CUNY today as a result of chronic underfunding and cuts.  There are three ways you can do this:

1. Give your students the Teach CUNY Fact Sheet, which includes information about effects of cuts to CUNY and a calendar of Teach CUNY events for March

2. Use one of the Teach CUNY Lesson Plans for your class.

3. Use the Teach CUNY Resources to create your own lesson plan.  If you do, please share it with this site by sending a brief description of the lesson plan to teachcuny@hotmail.com.

Teach CUNY 2012 is organized by a coalition consisting of the PSC BMCC Chapter, NYPIRG, and Students United for a Free CUNY.

For questions about Teach CUNY, email teachcuny@hotmail.com.